Ratchet seal-press.



- No. 727,890. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903.

E. J. BROOKS. RATGHET SEAL PRESS.

APILIGATION FILED MAR. 13, 1903.

HQ MODEL.

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Patented May 12, 1903.

EDWARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORAN GE, NEW JERSEY.

RATCH ET SEAL-PRESS.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,890, dated. May 12, 1903. Application filed March 13,1903. Serial No. 147,838. (No model.)

Jersey, have invented anew and useful'Im provement in Ratchet Seal-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention isadditional to what are known as my ratchet seal-presses,patented May 6, 1884, by Letters Patent No. 298,284; September 22, 1885, No. 326,897; October, 13, issalvaw; October'lIT3T90,No.438,140; November 1, 1892,'No. 485,370; October2ll, 1896, No. 569 742 and mm 7,1897, N0. Another form of the same is shown granted to me October 30, 1900, for l "m"- provement in seals. 7

The general object of the invention, .in common with said patented inventions, is to insure securely fastening each seal at the pressing operation and its provision in the press with sharp'anddistinct lettering or other distinguishing marks,if need be,and this is accomplished, as heretofore, by what hasbeen termed a ratchet attachment, which pre-.

vents reopening the dies after the pressing operation is begun until they have been closed tov a predetermined extent, sufiicient to fully press the seal-disk or its equivalent or, in other words, to render the seal perfectly press-fastened.

The leading object of the present improvement is to attach the pawl and ratchet to a pair of cylindrical dies themselves and to adapt such dies to be inserted at will in the press or removed therefrom without doing anything whatever to the body and handle parts.

Another object is to adapt the body and handle parts to be used for plain dies, as wellas for the ratchet-dies, so that either styleof dies can be putin the press at will.

Another object is to supplement the opening-spring to aily required extent, so as to insure the instantaneous retraction of the movable die when the press is opened.

A sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a small-scale sid View of an improved ratchet-press constructed according to the present invention, showing the handle and movable die at the respective limits of 'theirmovements in full and dotted lines. Fig. 2 represents a sectional elevation of thehead end of thepress with the dies closed. Figs..3 and 4 represent side and end views of themovable die. Figs. 5 and 6 represent side and end views of the supplemental spring, and Figs. 7 and 8 represent side and end viewsof the bed-die.

Like reference letters and numbers indicate likev parts in the several figures.

The improved ratchetpress, in common with others, comprises two lever-handle castings 1 and 2, known, respectively, as the handle and body parts, which may be and preferably are adapted to form, with the customary equipment, a ham mer' style sealpress of any preferred length and weight. The two castings form at one end of the press its lever-handles a and b. The handle part] may be and preferably is provided simply with a suitable eccentric or cam c at its pivot end and in connection with the ratchet attachment is adapted to be moved independently of the latter in the opening movement, so that the dies may be spring-opened and the more delicate parts thus protected against undue strain. The body part 2 has a, recessed head (i integral with its pivot end, and it accommodates, mostly within said head, the other parts of the press. Such otherparts include a pair of dies A and B, preferably and conveniently cylindrical and of one and the same diameter, an opening-spring G, such as is commonly used for retracting the movable die A, and a supplementalspringD for reinforcing the opening-spring to any required extent to insure the immediate retraction of said movable die when the press is opened, together with the customary pivot e, by which thepress is articulated, and setscrews f and g, serving, respectively, to fasten the bed-die B in place and to attach the opening-spring O.

The pawl p of the ratchet device ispreferably and conveniently of the construction set forth in my previous specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,370 aforesaid and the specifications of subsequent Letters Patent, as represented in Figs. 2, 3, and 4,

being spring-pressed and reversible within I the movable die A upon a transverse pivot q, as shown in these figures, so as to be carried by this die and movable therewith. A recess h to accommodate the pawl 13 and its appurtenances may preferably be drilled in the die A, and the pawl may be centered within such recess by a pair of sleeves q, surrounding the pivot g on the respective sides of the pawl.

The ratchet-rack r and reversing-notches n and o are milled in the opposing edge of a rib 3, formed on a supporting-bar m, which latter, like the pair of dies, is cylindrical, so that these parts as a whole may be inserted into and supported by cylindrical bores parallel with each other, drilled from the top or pivot edge of the head and accurately fitted to the dies and to the ratchet-supporting bar with the utmost facility. The customary socket 'i in the back of the movable die A to admit the end of the opening-spring O is supplemented by a groove 4, extending the entire length of the die to admit said rib 3, in which the ratchet-teeth and reversing-notches are formed. (Compare Figs. 4 and 8.) Any torsional displacement of the die is thus prevented. Said ratchet-supporting bar m is preferably and conveniently integral with the bed-die B, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and facilitates inserting and removing the beddie through the bore, which normally guides the movable die.

The supplemental spring D is preferably and conveniently a round spiral spring, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and is seated within a recess j, formed at the casting operation in the top of the body-casting 2.

When the press is open, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the point of the pawl 19 occupies the upper reversing-notch 'n, with the pawl itself in normal position, as in its alternative position of rest shown in Fig. 2. In this condition of the press (open) a seal-disk is inserted in the mouth 5 between the dies, the press being held by its rigid handle I). The swinging handle a, is then grasped by the other hand and brought into the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, which completes the pressing operation, and this is or may be done as quickly as it can be stated. At the beginning of the pressing operation the pawl p interlocks with the first or uppermost inter-dental notch of the ratchetrack r and prevents the escape of the sealdisk from between the dies. An instant later it interlocks with the second and then with the third, (if there be three, as shown) and up to this point the dies cannot be separated to release the seal-disk. Continued pressure brings the pawl 10 into the lower reversingnotch 0, as in Fig. 2, with a click, which announces the completion of the pressing operation. The press is then opened with the aid of the die-retracting springs O and D, and the press-fastened seal, bearing the distinguishing marks with which the respective dies A and B are engraved, escapes from the press. To remove the dies and therewith the ratchet device for any purpose, it is only necessary to remove the main pivot e, which is preferably and conveniently a screw, and to loosen the screws f and g. The openingspring 0 is then disengaged from the die A, which is then withdrawn, followed by the beddie B. The parts are as readily replaced, and either ratchet-dies or plain dies may be inserted and used in the same body and handle parts and with the same accessories.

The spring-pressed pawl of the ratchet device may be modified as to details of construction, the ratchet-rack may have any preferred number of interdental notches, the reversing-notches may be of any preferred shape, provided they are of sufficient size and properly located, and other like modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention and desire to patent under this specification 1. A seal-press havinga pair of dies, means for closing the same upon a seal, and a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a pawl carried by one of said dies and a ratchet-bar carried by the other of said dies and arranged to interlock with said pawl during each pressing movement.

2. A seal-press having a pair of dies, means for closing the same upon a seal, and a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a spring-pressed pawl carried by one of said dies, and a ratchet-bar carried by the other of said dies and arranged to interlock with said pawl during each pressing movement.

3. A seal-press having a pair of dies, means for closing the same upon a seal, and a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot therefor carried by one of said dies, and a ratchet-bar carried by the other of said dies and arranged to interlock with said pawl during each pressing movement.

4:. A seal-press having a pair of dies, means for closing the same upon a seal, and a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a pawl carried by one of said dies, and a ratchet-bar integral with the other of said dies and arranged to interlock with said pawl during each pressing movement.

5. A seal-press having a pair of dies, means for closing the same upon a seal, and a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot therefor carried by one of said dies, and a ratchet-bar integral with the other of said dies and arranged to interlock with said pawl during each pressing movement.

6. A seal-press comprising a recessed body part, a spring-retracted movable die and a bed-die within said body part, a handle part pivoted to said body part and adapted to im' part the pressing movements to said movable die, a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot there for carried by said movable die, and a ratchetbar carried by said bed-die and arranged to interlock with said pawl throughout each pressing movement.

7. A seal-press comprising a recessed body part, a spring-retracted movable die and a bed-die within said body part, a handle part pivoted to said body part and adapted to impart the pressing movements to said movable die, a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot therefor carried by said movable die and a ratchetbar carried by said bed-die and arranged to interlock with said pawl throughout each pressing movement; said dies, together with said pawl and said ratchet-supporting bar, being removable from said body part at will.

8. A seal-press comprising a recessed body part, a spring-retracted movable die anda bed-die within saidybody part, a handle part pivoted to said body part and adapted to impart the pressing movements to said movable die, a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot therefor carried by said die, and a ratchet-bar carried by said bed-die and arrangedto interlock with said pawl throughout each pressing movement; said dies and said ratchet-sup? porting bar being cylindrical, and the dies together with the ratchet .device being removable endwise from said body part.-

9. A seal-press comprising a recessed body part, a spring-retracted movable die and a bed-die within said body part, a handle part pivoted to said body part and adapted to impart the pressing movements to said movable die, a spring-pressed pawl and a pivot therefor carried by said die, and a ratchet-barcarried by said bed-die and arranged to interlock with said pawl throughout each pressing movement; said dies, togetherwith the ratchet device, being removable from said body part and interchangeable with plain dies.

10. In a seal-press, the combination of arecessed body part, a movable die and a beddie within said body part, a handle part pivoted to said body part vand adapted to impart the pressing movements to said movable die, a ratchet device for insuring fully-completed pressing operations comprising a pawl carried by said movable die and a ratchet-bar carried by said bed-die and arranged to interlock with said pawl throughout each pressing movement, an opening-spring interlocking with said movable die, and a supplemental spring compressed beneath said openingspring to assist in the instantaneous retraction of said movable die when the press is opened, substantially as hereinbefore specified.

EDWARD J. BROOKS. Witnesses:

ELLEN J. BROOKS, ELINOR BROOKS. 

